British fundamentalist schools are teaching children being gay is ‘unnatural’, it has been claimed
Christian fundamentalist schools in Britain are teaching children that gay people are “unnatural” and girls must be submissive to men, it has been claimed.
An investigation by the Independent has spoken to former pupils who have exposed the schools for not preparing children for life. It is thought more than 1,000 children are currently attending these schools across the country.
As well as being forced to teach themselves in order to “get closer to God”, textbooks provided to children taught them that creationism was fact, a women’s roles was beneath a man and that homosexualiy was wrong.
One textbook said: “Homosexual, adjective: having unnatural sexual feelings towards one of the same sex. Homosexual activity is another of man’s corruptions of God’s plan.
“The Bible records that God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of homosexual activity. Some people mistakenly believe that an individual is born a homosexual and his attraction to those of the same sex is normal.”
Children are forced to work in specially constructed booths that prevent them from interacting with each other and allegedly receive little guidance from teachers.
Former pupils have claimed this has led to children, especially with disabilities, left unequipped to deal with modern life.
Children are also not given any formal qualifications other than a “Christian certificate”, making it less likely they will be able to go onto any further education.
“No one outside the schools knows about what happens inside them, that’s why they’ve been able to go on like this for so long,” a former pupil said.
Known as Accelerated Christian Education schools (ACE), the schools developed in the southern United States before expanding to other countries around the world. Between 20 and 60 pupils are believed to attend each one.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “All schools must promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect for different faiths and beliefs. This is a vital part of providing educational excellence everywhere. They must also encourage respect for other people, paying particular regard to the protected characteristics set out in the 2010 Equality Act.”
“ACE schools, like all other independent schools, are inspected against the new, tougher Independent School Standards, and where there are concerns a school is failing to meet these standards we will not hesitate to take action.”
In April, a list of schools that receive public money, but are exempt from LGBT discrimination laws was published by the Department of Education.
